Palo Alto Senior High School

Palo Alto · Santa Clara County

Public Santa Clara County ~495 seniors

Data Year

Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Palo Alto High → Menlo Atherton High School → Sequoia High School → Woodside High School → Henry M. Gunn High → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)

1,932 (2018) → 1,828 (2026)

-5.4%

Grade 12 (graduating class)

520 (2018) → 477 (2026)

-8.3%

If this trend holds (-0.7%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon	Projected Total enrollment	Change	Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027)	~1,815	-13	$0
3 yr (2029)	~1,790	-38	$0
5 yr (2031)	~1,766	-62	$0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

📊 Key takeaway · Class of 2025

Palo Alto Senior High School sent 1,702 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 20.3% were admitted, producing a UC Reach of 69.9% — 51.4 percentage points above the California median of 18.5%, higher than 96% of California high schools. The school produces 13.7 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025

★ Top 10% UC Reach

UC Reach ⓘ

70%

346 admits / 495 seniors
+26.9 pp above peer median (43.0%) · Ranked #3 of 9 similar schools

5-year trend

2021 · 80.6% 2025 · 69.9%

Where this sits on the California curve

CA median
18.5%

Peer median
43.0%

Top 10%
53.3%

This school
69.9%

0%50%100%

CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 69.9%

Higher than 96% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Palo Alto Senior High School's UC Reach of 69.9% clears the statewide top-10% cutoff (53.3%) — meaning roughly 69 top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, well above what most California schools achieve.

Against similar schools, Palo Alto Senior High School stands out clearly — the peer-group median is 43.0%.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 102.7% — a gap of 33 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Palo Alto Senior High School's UC Reach is higher than 96% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach ⓘ

343.8%

1702 applications

Strong UC pursuit. The typical senior is applying to about 3 top-6 UC campuses — a signal of a college-driven student body.

In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · Santa Clara Co. Top 10% ≥ 359.1% · higher than 97% of CA HS.

UC Admit Rate ⓘ

20.3%

346 / 1702 applications

In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 18% of CA HS.

UC Yield Rate ⓘ

17.1%

59 enrolled of 346 admitted

Yield vs. Enrollment Reach: Yield answers "of UC admits, what % chose UC?" — denominator is just the admits. A small admitted cohort can post a low yield even when the school sends a healthy share of its class to UC.

UC Enrollment Reach ⓘ

11.9%

59 enrollees / 495 seniors

Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what % ended up at UC?" — denominator is everyone. High Yield with low Enrollment Reach is common at elite privates: most admits matriculate, but the school sends most of its class to non-UC selective colleges.

UC 6-Yr Grad Rate ⓘ

92%

81% finished in 4 yrs · N=59 entered 2019

In context: CA median 88.6% · +2.9 pp above.

Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD) ⓘ

53.7

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 95% of CA HS.

Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA) ⓘ

13.7

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 3.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 11.1 · higher than 95% of CA HS.

Senior Class Size ⓘ

495

CDE grade 12 (exact)

Total School Enrollment ⓘ

1,891

All grades · CDE Census Day

Palo Alto Senior High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Palo Alto · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

▸On UC Reach, Palo Alto Senior High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #3 of 9): 70% vs. a peer median of 43%.
▸Its UC Reach has risen 16 points since 2018.
▸Senior-class enrollment is down 8% (520→477 from 2018 to 2026), trailing the peer-group median of -2%.
▸At its recent rate (-0.7%/yr), enrollment projects to ~1790 by 2029 — about 38 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

1828 students (2026)

→

~1790 projected (2029)

at -0.7%/yr

That's about 38 fewer students. At per-student funding of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual state funding at risk.

Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423 per ADA) — adjust to your district's actual per-pupil figure. Projection extrapolates the recent annual rate — not a forecast of intent.

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School	Type	Size	UC Reach	Enroll. trend
Palo Alto Senior High School	Public	1828	69.9%	-8%
Peer-group median			43.0%	-2%
Palo Alto High	Public	1828	—	-2%
Menlo Atherton High School	Public	2152	30.1%	-1%
Sequoia High School	Public	1839	21.3%	-5%
Woodside High School	Public	1694	31.7%	-2%
Henry M. Gunn High	Public	1606	—	-16%
Los Altos High	Public	2203	54.3%	+4%
Fremont High	Public	2015	24.1%	+4%
Cupertino High School	Public	1814	77.7%	-13%
Homestead High School	Public	2190	54.6%	-1%
Monta Vista High School	Public	1588	85.5%	-31%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type. Methodology →

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.04

Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.24

UC funnel — which kids are getting in at what GPA

Combining the school's applicant pool GPA, admit pool GPA, actual admit rate, and statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, we can read which GPA tiers tend to get in — and which don't.

🎯 Who's actually getting into UC from Palo Alto Senior High School

Campus	4.00+ GPA	3.70–3.99 GPA	3.30–3.69 GPA	< 3.30 GPA
UC Berkeley	Real shot	Long odds	Filtered out	Filtered out
UCLA	Real shot	Long odds	Filtered out	Filtered out
UC San Diego	Strong shot	Moderate	Long odds	Filtered out
UC Santa Barbara	Strong shot	Real shot	Long odds	Filtered out
UC Irvine	Strong shot	Real shot	Long odds	Filtered out
UC Davis	Strong shot	Strong shot	Real shot	Filtered out

Strong shot = ≥30% statewide admit rate at this band · Real shot = 10–29% · Moderate = 5–9% · Long odds = 1–4% · Filtered out = under 1%. Tiers map this school's likely outcomes by GPA tier using statewide CA admit rates from UCOP 2025.

The numbers behind it

Campus	Applicant GPA	Admit GPA	Lift ⓘ	Admit rate	vs peer schools @ same GPA ⓘ
UC Berkeley	4.04	4.25	+0.20	14.4%	Peers +0.21 · matches
UCLA	4.05	4.23	+0.18	9.2%	Peers +0.23 · wider
UC San Diego	4.03	4.26	+0.23	15.0%	Peers +0.25 · matches
UC Santa Barbara	4.04	4.26	+0.22	32.9%	Peers +0.25 · matches
UC Irvine	4.05	4.24	+0.19	22.7%	Peers +0.20 · matches
UC Davis	4.01	4.21	+0.20	28.1%	Peers +0.21 · matches

📊 Statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, 2025 (for reference)

GPA band	UCB	UCLA	UCSD	UCSB	UCI	UCD
4.00+	17.0%	15.1%	45.2%	62.3%	46.3%	65.9%
3.70–3.99	3.1%	1.6%	9.3%	17.6%	17.0%	31.1%
3.30–3.69	0.8%	0.5%	1.5%	2.8%	2.4%	10.3%
3.00–3.29	0.4%	0.3%	0.2%	0.4%	0.3%	1.9%
< 3.00	0.7%	0.4%	0.3%	0.2%	0.1%	0.7%

How we infer the tier labels: Each tier comes from the statewide CA admit rate at that GPA band at that UC. The "vs peers" column compares this school's lift (admit GPA − applicant GPA) to the average lift at ~100–300 other CA schools with similar applicant pool GPA. What this isn't: a guarantee. UC comprehensive review weighs essays, course rigor, demographics, and context-of-opportunity beyond GPA. A 3.9 with strong context can land an admit; a 4.0 with weak essays can be denied. Use as a baseline expectation, not a verdict. Per-campus year is shown when it differs from the headline year (UCOP doesn't always publish admit-GPA for every campus every year).

Where Palo Alto Senior High School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (20.3% actual vs. 23.0% expected).

UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025

UC Admit Rate %

UC Reach % (where available)

UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data — applicant/admit totals may count a student at multiple campuses more than once.

Campus Breakdown — 2025

Campus	Applicants	Admits	Enrollees	Admit Rate	UC Reach	Yield	Avg GPA (App)	Avg GPA (Adm)
UC Berkeley → Elite	285	41	26	14.4%	8.3%	63.4%	4.04	4.25
UCLA → Elite	295	27	10	9.2%	5.5%	37.0%	4.05	4.23
UC San Diego → Selective	287	43	—	15.0%	8.7%	—	4.03	4.26
UC Santa Barbara → Selective	295	97	13	32.9%	19.6%	13.4%	4.04	4.26
UC Irvine → Selective	255	58	3	22.7%	11.7%	5.2%	4.05	4.24
UC Davis →	285	80	7	28.1%	16.2%	8.8%	4.01	4.21

⚠ Campus-level totals may count one student admitted to multiple UC campuses more than once. Admit Volume metrics are not the same as UC Reach, which requires unique-student counts. See methodology →

What This Means

A large share of the senior class applies to UC, indicating strong college-going culture and UC pipeline development.

A large share of the class applies to UC, so the admit rate runs lower than the application volume alone might suggest — expected when many students apply broadly, including to reach campuses. UC Reach (which credits every admit relative to the class) is the truer read of how the class fares: a strong Reach alongside a moderate admit rate is healthy, not a contradiction.

UC Reach is very strong — more than 70% of seniors are earning UC admission. This places the school among California's highest-performing high schools on this metric.

Strong UC Reach paired with low yield: students are earning UC admission at high rates and then enrolling elsewhere. The pattern is characteristic of competitive college-preparatory schools where many students choose more selective private colleges or out-of-state flagships over UC — UC functions as a strong backup option rather than a first choice.

UC Reach has improved meaningfully compared to the prior year — a positive trajectory worth monitoring and reinforcing.

Note: admit counts used here are campus-level totals. A student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted twice. When UCOP unique-student data becomes available it will be loaded automatically and the labels will update.

Compare with other schools → See Santa Clara County rankings →